Individual- and Community- Level Risk Factors for Violence Research Director

Individual- and CommunityLevel Risk Factors for Violence
Douglas J. Boyle, J.D., Ph.D.
Research Director
DEFINITIONS
Risk Factor
Characteristic that increases the
likelihood of a person becoming a
perpetrator of violence
Protective Factor
Characteristic that decreases the
likelihood of a person becoming a
perpetrator of violence because it
provides a buffer against risk
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STABILITY OF VIOLENT
BEHAVIOR
VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IS ONE OF THE
MOST STABLE CHARACTERISTICS
FROM AGE 7 THROUGH
ADULTHOOD
 see Huesmann, et al., 1984; Lahey et
al., 2005; Olweus, 1979.
 Distinguish from Play Fighting
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5
EARLY PREVENTION
PROGRAMS WORK
Early prevention programs
can be effective in reducing
violence
(e.g., Boyle & HassettWalker, 2008)
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TYPES OF VIOLENCE









YOUTH VIOLENCE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/IPV
COMMUNITY VIOLENCE
SMI
BULLYING
SEXUAL AGGRESSION
CHILD ABUSE
ELDER ABUSE
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
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
WHILE VIOLENCE HAS
TRADITIONALLY BEEN STUDIED AS
DISTINCT TYPES BY
RESEARCHERS, IN FACT MANY OF
THE SAME RISK FACTORS APPLY
ACROSS A RANGE OF VIOLENT
BEHAVIORS
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
RISK FACTORS CAN PREDISPOSE
AN INDIVIDUAL TO ENGAGE IN
MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF VIOLENT
BEHAVIOR
– Boyle et al., 2008
– Moffitt et al., 2000
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ECOLOGICAL MODEL
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INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
•
•
HISTORY OF EARLY AGGRESSION
BELIEFS SUPPORTIVE OF
VIOLENCE
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INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
(continued)
•
•
•
•
HOSTILE ATTRIBUTIONAL BIASES
SOCIAL COGNITIVE DEFICITS
IMPULSIVITY
ACADEMIC FAILURE
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FAMILY/RELATIONSHIP
FACTORS
EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE
 POOR FAMILY FUNCTIONING
 LOW EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT
 PARENTING DEFICITS

– POOR MONITORING/SUPERVISION
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RELATIONSHIP CONTINUED

PEER INFLUENCES
– ANTISOCIAL PEER CONTACTS
• Moffitt, 1993
– PEER CONTAGION EFFECT
• See Dishion et al., 1999
• MOST OFTEN STUDIED IN CONTEXT OF
ADOLESCENTS BUT EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
WITH ADULTS
– See Boyle et al., 2013
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COMMUNITY

VARYING DEFINITIONS/CONTEXTS
– NEIGHBORHOOD
• CENSUS TRACTS (Boyle et al., 2014)
– SCHOOL
• Boyle, 2005; Olweus, 1993.
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NEIGHBORHOOD RISK
FACTORS

HIGH LEVELS OF RESIDENTIAL
TRANSIENCY
– Boyle et al., 2014

CONCENTRATED DISADVANTAGE
– Boyle & Hassett-Walker, 2008; Sampson
et al., 1997.

CODE OF THE STREET
– Anderson, 2000.
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NJVDRS

CDC FUNDED PROJECT
– COLLABORATION BETWEEN VINJ AND DHSS
– COLLECT DATA ON ALL VIOLENT DEATHS
(HOMICIDES AND SUICIDES) IN NJ FROM
2003- PRESENT
– ONGOING
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Homicide in NJ (2003 – 2012)
Victims’ Residence (%)
Newark, East Orange, Irvington
Camden
Other
Population (%)
Newark, East Orange, Irvington
Camden
Other
4.5%
0.9%
28.6%
62.9%
8.5%
94.6%
East Orange
Newark
Irvington
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Boyle et al., 2010
SOCIETAL RISK FACTORS

CULTURAL VALUES
– BIASES AND PREJUDICES
– PATRIARCHY AND DV
• Women’s Movement & Shelter Movement
– GUN VIOLENCE/GUN CULTURE
• Need for Grass Roots Movement

LEGAL CONTEXT
– LAWS CAN BE USED TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE
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CONCLUSIONS
PRESENCE OF A RISK FACTOR(S)
DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN AN
INDIVIDUAL WILL ENGAGE IN
VIOLENCE
 PRESENCE OF MULTIPLE TYPES OF
RISK FACTORS INCREASES THE
RISK OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR

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CONCLUSIONS

RISK FACTORS CAN PREDISPOSE
AN INDIVIDUAL TO ENGAGE IN
MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF VIOLENT
BEHAVIOR
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References
Anderson, E. (2000). Code of the Street. New York: Norton & Co.
Boyle, D.J., Ragusa, L., Lanterman, J., & Fleish Marcus, A. (2013). An Evaluation of
Day Reporting Centers for Parolees: Outcomes of a Randomized Trial. Criminology and
Public Policy, Volume 12, Issue 1, 119-143.
Boyle, D.J., Lanterman, J., Pascarella, J. Cheng, C. (2010). The impact of Newark’s Operation Ceasefire on trauma
center gunshot wound admissions. Justice Research and Policy, 12(2), 105-123.
Boyle, D.J. and Hassett-Walker, C. (2008). Individual-level and socio-structural characteristics of violence: An
emergency department study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(8), 1011-1026.
Boyle, D.J. and Hassett-Walker. C. (2008). Reducing overt and relational aggression among young children: The results
from a two-year outcome evaluation. Journal of School Violence, 7(1), 27-42.
Boyle, D.J., O’Leary, K.D., Rosenbaum, A., and Hassett-Walker, C. (2008). Differentiating between generally and
partner-only violent subgroups: Lifetime antisocial behavior, family of origin violence, and impulsivity. Journal of Family
Violence, 23(1), 47-55.
Boyle, D.J. (2005). Youth bullying: Incidence, impact, and interventions. Journal of the New Jersey Psychological
Association, 55(3), 22-34.
Dishion, Thomas J., Joan McCord, and Francois Poulin. 1999. When interventions harm: Peer
groups and problem behavior. American Psychologist, 54: 755-764.
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References
Eron, L.D. (1997). The development of antisocial behavior from a learning perspective. In
Stoff, Breiling & Maser (Eds.) Handbook of Antisocial Behavior (pp. 140-147). New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
Huesmann, L.R., Eron, L.D., Lefkowitz, M.M., & Walder, L.O. (1984). The stability of
aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120-1134.
Lahey, B.B., Loeber, R., Burke, J.D., & Applegate, B. (2005). Predicting future antisocial
personality disorder in males from a clinical assessment in childhood. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 73 (3), 389-399.
Moffitt, T.E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A
developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.
Moffitt, T.E., Krueger, R.F., Caspi, A., & Fagan, J. (2000). Partner abuse and general crime:
How are they the same? How are they different? Criminology, 38(1), 199-232.
Olweus, D. (1979). Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: A review. Psychological
Bulletin, 86, 852-875.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School. Malden, MA.: Blackwell Publishers.
Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S.W., and Earls, F. (1997). “Neighborhoods and violent crime: A
multilevel study of collective efficacy.” Science, 277:918-924.
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